Are documents posted online legally binding?

Don’t have an answer but how are you signing? On a separate piece of paper or something else.

@Tropical_Willie, yes the signature page is paper, and is definitely binding. No question. I worry that this binding agreement refers to something that is only found online.

Have HR print and sign a copy of the handbook for you to sign and keep a copy of handbook with a DATE it was issued.

Yes, it is legally binding, because the employer will make it a condition of your employment to read the on-line employee manual. If you later try to sue them for something and say, “well, I didn’t read that in the employee manual” they will say that is grounds for dismissal because you were supposed to read the whole thing.

A question for you: what are you trying to prove by saying you didn’t receive anything? Nothing in the manual will be a requirement do something illegal, it is all a notification of things that are grounds for firing you if you violate one of them. And, if you do something wrong, and they go to fire you, saying you never got the manual will not win a lawsuit and you will still be out of a job.

I would print the whole thing off with a date,then sign it and only if my job was depending on it, because I fear you do have a fear about management making modifications to it with out informing their work force first.

Make sure you sign without prejudice. You can do this simply by adding the words “without prejudice” immediately after your signature. It means that you reserve any rights you had before signing, with the implication that you are signing under duress. Courts in most jurisdictions hold that a contract which benefits only one party and which, if not signed, will result in something disproportionately negative for the signatory, are not valid contracts. By signing without prejudice, you make that easier to prove in court if it becomes necessary.

Don’t forget that you can also modify documents you’re signing. They will present you with a document agreeing that you have read the manual and agree to abide by it. You can simply write in that you agree to abide by the manual as it exists on such-and-such specific day and initial the change, then sign the document. HR would have a hard time giving a valid reason why this is not acceptable to any court, which means any action taken against you for this would be without cause and would get you a nice payday – as HR is undoubtedly aware, which is why they’re unlikely to object.

I have no problem signing the manual and I have read it in its entirety. In fact, I work in HR and I wrote the new manual. Upper management wishes to make everything electronic, and I feel that there are risks.

My concern here is that as an electronic document, it can be modified without notice or approval of one or even both parties (management and workforce). Say for example, someone modifies the vacation benefit from 2 weeks per year to 6 weeks per year (i.e. not in the employer’s favor) or the reverse (from 2 weeks to 1 week, not in the employee’s favor).

This is more of a question on how do you track modifications to electronic documents that have legal force, and in the case of the signed hard copy, just what are you agreeing to? I posed the original question as I did since I had a number of co-workers express this concern.

When I was wrongfully fired, I was told by that the employee handbooks are not legally binding on the employer, but, rather, a tool whereby the employer can beat the employee about the head and face (not his exact words~) in case of a rule infraction or dispute.
Who told me that? A lawyer that handles employment disputes for multi-national corporations. He only spoke with me as a favor to an influential family friend.

To your concerns:
I worked for a multinational and my group was to be a pilot project within a plant with 1,000 employees. We were given strict parameters regarding how many people could be on vacation at one time, how vacation would be allotted, etc. etc. We were then split into groups to come up with guidelines, and then the groups had to reconcile to form a handbook. We had a management ‘facilitator’ that nudged us away from the loopholes we found, and recorded all changes in our policy as they took place. We did an excellent job that was as equitable as the “choose the rope you want to be hung with” guidelines allowed.
Fast forward. Our group was not the cash cow expected and the electronic version of our policy ‘disappeared’. We were constantly asked to revise a policy that didn’t exist, on record.

I don’t know the size of your company, but I would push for employees requesting a hard copy of the handbook getting one. Barring that a hard copy should be available in the break-room. And if that copy disappears, it would, obviously, be replaced. As needed.